Cop linked to Tawi-Tawi politician’s murder

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Police have implicated a cop in the killing of a Tawi-Tawi municipal vice mayor in a daring attack in Zamboanga City in southern Philippines.

National police chief Oscar Albayalde said he ordered police forces to hunt down the suspect in the July 11 murder of Sapa-Sapa vice mayor Al-Rashid Mohammad Ali.

The gunman shot Ali was in a car with his companions, including a policeman, during a traffic stop in downtown Zamboanga. The assailant apparently tailed Ali’s car and then shot him several times through the window.

The attacker escaped on a motorcycle driven by an accomplice after the shooting. Ali’s escort tried to pursue the shooter, but failed to catch up on him. The politician was rushed to the Zamboanga Doctor’s Hospital nearby, but he did not survive the attack.

Albayalde said the suspect is an active member of the police force assigned in Lamitan City in Basilan province who has gone hiding. The murder was believed connected to politics. (Mindanao Examiner)